Old Lady Excludes Son from Will and Leaves Her Inheritance to a Stranger – Story of the Day

Adelaine hated his son’s new girlfriend for many reasons and told him not to marry. He went ahead with the wedding, so she decided to give her money to her new neighbor. But there was a catch.

Mrs. Adelaine Fletcher raised her son, Henry, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her late husband passed away when Henry was a teenager, but they both came from extreme wealth.

Henry never had to worry about money, but he was a bit naïve with girls. Adelaine didn’t want to become a helicopter mom or a so-called “monster-in-law,” but she always warned her son about gold-digging women. When Henry met Barbara, Adelaine was delighted.

Barbara was also from a wealthy family, but she had built her own business after college. She was never after Henry’s money, and they both fell in love quickly. Both families helped pay for their wedding, and soon, they announced Barbara’s pregnancy.

Unfortunately, she hemorrhaged severely during childbirth and died on the table. Henry was devasted, but his son, Brice, survived.

“Honey, I know this is the hardest time of your life right now. But you have to pull yourself together for this baby. He is a miracle, and Barbara sacrificed her life for him,” Adelaine told her grieving son.

“I know, Mom. But I don’t know how to be a father. I hate that my baby will grow up without his mother,” Henry lamented.

“We’re all here for you. Barbara’s mom told me that she could help whenever you need it, although they are also grieving. But Brice will brighten up your lives. He is a gift,” Adelaine continued.

Henry resolved to pull through for his child. After a few months, he was confident in his parenting abilities but missed female companionship. Luckily, he met Dayana at a coffee shop. She was gorgeous and loved children.

He introduced her to Brice quickly, and she was a natural with him. Then it was time for her to meet his mother. “Dayana, this is my mother, Adelaine Fletcher,” he said when they arrived at his mother’s house.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dayana,” Adelaine said politely, but she was only pretending. Barbara had only been gone a few months, and she disapproved of her son dating this quickly.

“Yeah, me too, Adelaine. This is a HUGE house!” Dayana replied, looking around the foyer. Adelaine cringed a bit when she called her by her first name. Barbara was way more polite, she thought.

As the night progressed, Dayana kept making comments that rubbed Adelaine the wrong way. She admired everything in the house and talked about all the expensive things she wanted. Dayana also said she didn’t like Henry’s house as much as Adelaine's.

Dayana also talked about traveling all over the world now that she was dating someone successful like Henry. “You can’t travel that much with a new baby, though,” Adelaine commented as they ate dinner.

“Oh, we can just leave him with a sitter or something. Money is not a problem for you guys after all,” she replied.

This girl is a gold-digger, Adelaine concluded. She tried pulling Henry away for a second to talk about her concerns, but he ignored her. They left that night, and her son continued dating that woman. Henry often asked Adelaine to babysit because Dayana wanted to go somewhere.

Then a month after their meeting, Henry told his mother they had gotten engaged. “You can’t marry that woman. She’s a gold-digger, and I can see how little she cares for Brice. Please listen to me, Henry,” Adelaine begged.

“Mother, I have been so tired and so sad since Barbara’s passing. I need Dayana. She makes me smile, and Brice needs a mother one way or another,” Henry explained.

“I will not support this marriage, Henry! She is not right for you,” Adelaine continued.

“I know what’s best for me, mom! This wedding is happening whether you like it or not!” Henry bellowed on the phone and hung up.

Adelaine refused to go to their wedding, especially when she heard that Dayana demanded Henry leave Brice with Barbara’s parents for the entire wedding weekend. A kind woman would have included Brice in the entourage of her wedding party, Adelaine thought.

She sat down on her front porch and cried out of frustration. Her new neighbor, a young woman named Julie, spotted her and decided to approach her. Needing to pour her heart out to someone who'd listen, Adelaine told Julie about everything that was happening.

"Oh my gosh. That's a lot to unpack," Julie said after hearing the whole story. "But my parents have always warned me about dating gold-digging men, and I always roll my eyes. I guess I should be careful."

That afternoon, Adelaine also learned more about Julie. She discovered that her family was just as wealthy as the Fletchers. She also immediately warmed up to Julie and saw a kind heart in her.

A few days later, she asked Julie for a huge favor to save her son. The young woman protested at first because it was a huge commitment but accepted after Adelaine begged desperately.

When Adelaine got sick years later, Dayana didn’t help take care of her and just went out shopping. She couldn’t even hide her delight when the old lady passed away. She was dying to see what they would get from her estate.

But when Adelaine’s lawyer read the will, she was surprised to learn that the woman had transferred everything to Julie. She only left Henry a bit of money so he wouldn’t contest the will. Dayana was furious.

She had been spending Henry’s money for years, but they had been running low without Adelaine’s support. They were counting on her estate, and she always coveted that big house.

Henry was shocked too that his mother didn't say anything about this earlier, but he didn't want to deal with his wife's awful whining. “Dayana, there’s nothing we can do! It was my mother’s money, and she gave it away to a stranger. I can't believe it either, but it’s done,” Henry said, frustrated.

To Henry's surprise, Dayana served him divorce papers a few months later. She also demanded spousal support and half of his house. Henry had to sell it and rented a cheap apartment to live with Brice. For the first time in his life, he was struggling with money.

But one day, Julie showed up at his door. “Julie, what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since the will reading,” Henry said and invited her in.

“Well, I had to wait for your divorce to be finalized,” Julie revealed.

“What?” Henry asked, confused.

“There’s something you should know,” Julie began. “Your mother didn’t leave me her money. Your son is the real inheritor of her estate and your father’s money. But Adelaine thought Dayana would take advantage of Brice's inheritance.”

“How is that possible?” Henry wondered, amazed that his mother thought so much ahead.

“I’m not exactly sure about the legalities. You’ll have to call the lawyers for that. But we had a contract. I inherited the money with the promise that I would give it all to Brice when he became an adult or when Dayana left you guys for good. Whatever came first,” Julie explained.

“You accepted just like that?" he wondered.

"Your mother offered to pay me, but I declined. My family has tons of money too. It felt wrong. I only wanted to help out," Julie answered.

"Ok. That’s good. So Brice won’t have to worry about money,” Henry mumbled, relieved. Thank you, Mom. I should have listened to you, he thought to the skies.

“Well, you both won’t have to worry about money. I want to give you everything. It’s Brice, but you’re his father. You should be safe-keeping it,” Julie revealed. Henry couldn’t thank her enough for agreeing to her mother’s wishes.

They started seeing each other often, and Henry saw how Julie took to Brice right away. He asked her out eventually, and they dated for a few years before he popped the question.

What can we learn from this story?

• Beware of the people that come into your life. We like to believe the best of people, but not everyone has the best intentions, especially when it comes to money.
• Don’t let grief blind you. Henry didn’t listen to his mother’s warnings because he was still mourning his late wife.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who hated her mother for not letting her see what was inside an old box. Then she discovers the truth.

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